System and Method for Detecting Three-Way Call Circumvention Attempts

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a three-way call detection system and method for use with a telephone management system. Specifically, a three-way call detection system and method for detecting continuous noise indicative of an attempt to mask a three-way call attempt. The continuous noise detection system and method may be stand alone or used in conjunction with any existing three-way call detection system and method.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/378,244, filed Feb. 12, 2009, which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of detectingthree-way call attempts in controlled telecommunications systems. Inparticular, the present invention relates to a system and method forpreventing a user from successfully circumventing or masking a three-waycall attempt by generating a continuous or constant noise. The systemand method of the present invention may be utilized with any existingthree-way call detection system or method. The present inventionpreferably monitors for periods of silence and whether the examinedsamples are below a pre-determined threshold. If the pre-determinedthreshold is exceeded, the present invention determines that an attemptto circumvent a three-way call has occurred if the amount of timebetween periods of silence exceeds the maximum allowable duration forcontinuous audio. The system also includes a continuous noise detectionalgorithm for detecting the presence of false positives in the audiosteam.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many institutions, such as prisons, nursing homes, mental institutions,etc., include controlled telecommunications systems that offer inmatesor residents limited calling access. One reason for controlling use ofthe system is to prevent the institution from incurring unaccountabletelephone costs. Other reasons for controlling access to the systeminclude preventing harassing calls to outside parties, preventingfraudulent activities, etc. Therefore, systems in such environmentsoften monitor and control the telephone activity of each inmate orresident. For example, systems may restrict calling to only certaintelephone numbers. Systems may also have a means of maintaining callrecords for each inmate or resident, and a means for communicating withcalled parties to enable the called parties to prevent future telephonecalls from inmates or residents. In short, the communications systemused in a regulated institution must employ unique monitoring andcontrol functions often unnecessary in other types of telecommunicationssystems.

In order for the methods of monitoring and control to be effective, itis important to prevent inmates or residents from exploiting anyloopholes that can be used to bypass the control features of the system.For example, inmates or residents have been known to use three-waycalling to have an outside party connect the inmate or resident to ablocked number. A three-way call is initiated when the remote calledparty depresses the hook switch on the telephone, generating a hookflash signal. The caller is temporarily put on hold while the calledparty establishes a connection with a third party. Then, all threeparties can converse. Using three-way calling, the inmate or residentmay utilize the institution's call system to, among other things, accessblocked telephone numbers, for example, to perpetrate additionalcriminal activities, or harass certain parties.

It is therefore critical to carefully monitor all outgoing telephonecalls for three-way call attempts. Without such monitoring, many of thesystem's control features of a telecommunications system can be renderedineffective. Currently, there are systems and methods known in the artfor detecting three-way call attempts. Many of these systems however,are inaccurate and subject to both false positives and false negatives.Also, many of these systems are effective only in certain types oftelecommunications systems.

For example, one such system known in the art for detecting three-waycall attempts monitors for pulses of energy indicative of a hook-flashby detecting the frequency of the energy pulse to determine if it ischaracteristic of a hook-flash (i.e., a three-way call attempt).Specifically, the system includes a low pass filter for passing energysignals having frequencies below 500 Hertz (“Hz”), preferably in therange of 100 to 300 Hz, and an energy detector for detecting specificelectrical energy pulses passing through the filter and having apredetermined minimum magnitude. The system also includes a softwarewindow analyzer, which cooperates with the energy detector to detectspecific events, such as sound, occurring on the telephone line during apredetermined time window after the detection of the aforementionedenergy pulse. The software window analyzer includes a timer means thatis activated by the detection of the energy pulse, and a sound means fordetecting the occurrence of sound on the telephone line during at leastone of multiple windows of time defined by the timer means. Thenon-occurrence of sound on the telephone line during a specified timewindow is used by the system to confirm that the detected energy pulseis in fact a three-way call attempt. A counter means is furtherimplemented for counting specific energy pulses detected by the energydetector during the time window when the remote party is using apulse-dial telephone. This system, by simply monitoring for a pulsecomposed of certain frequencies, is often inaccurate and cannot operatein digital systems.

A similar system is also designed to detect the presence of an energypulse indicative of a hook-flash. Specifically, the system is designedto detect a pulse that is comprised of frequency components below 500 Hzand above a predetermined threshold. The existence of the hook-flash isconfirmed by digital signal processing equipment which identifies arapid drop-off in energy, which is indicative of a hook-flash signal.Optionally, the hook-flash may be further confirmed by includingsoftware for cooperating with the energy detector to ascertain whethersound has occurred in the telecommunication during a predeterminedperiod following the first hook-flash signal.

Still another known system includes three-way call detection circuitthat uses digital signal processing to identify a third partyconnection. The system operates by establishing a baseline backgroundnoise. The system identifies a drop in noise level below the establishedbaseline background noise as an indication that a three-way conferencecall has been attempted by the called and/or calling party.

Yet another known system monitors all connected telephone lines forindicia representative of a three-way call attempt. For example, thesystem may monitor for a digital PCM signal or a period of silence,followed by a release pulse, followed by yet another period of silence.Upon detection of a possible three-way call attempt, the three-way calldetection circuit examines the digital signals to determine the spectralcharacteristics (i.e., time duration, frequency, and energy level) of asuspected release pulse of the suspected three-way call attempt. Thesystem utilizes pattern recognition techniques to compare the suspectedrelease pulse with a reference release pulse indicative of a three-waycall attempt. The system also monitors for periods of silence before andafter the suspected release pulse. If the system finds that thesuspected release pulse is substantially similar to the referencerelease pulse and that the correct periods of silence surrounding thesuspected release pulse are present, the system responds to thedetection, for example, by disconnecting the telephone call, playing arecording, or creating a record of the three-way call attempt.

Yet another known system for detecting three-way calls monitors audiosignals for features that distinguish voice and line-generated audiosignals from audio signals produced by events associated with three-waycall attempts. The distinguishing features used are pulse patterns thatare strongly correlated with either audio signals generated by centraloffice switching activity (‘clicks’) (reference features) orvoice-generated audio signals (reset features). Audio signals arecontinuously monitored for reference and reset features over selectedintervals or sampling windows. Sampling windows are reset whenever resetfeatures are detected in the associated audio signal segment. Audiosignals that are free of reset features and include reference featuresare tagged as potential click events. A three-way call event is declaredwhen audio signals associated with consecutive sample windows are taggedas potential three-way call events. In this system, a control programsamples the audio signal at the selected rate and sorts the sampledsignals during a sampling window to produce a profile of the sampledaudio signal. The profile comprises counters for tracking the number,strength (loudness), and separation of signal pulses. These counters maybe compared in various combinations with counter values extracted fromvoice-generated audio signals (reset thresholds) and three-way callgenerated audio signals (reference thresholds) to declare a three-waycall attempt, continue sampling, or reset the sampling window.

Another known system counts signal characteristics to detect three-waycall attempts. The system samples audio from a telephone conversation,sorts the sampled signals into a profile of levels for the sampled audiosignals, and monitors the profile of sampled audio signals for reset andreference conditions. In this system, a reset condition is a pulsepattern inconsistent with patterns generated by three-way call events.Reference conditions, in contrast, are pulse patterns identified fromsampled audio signals that are consistent with patterns generated bythree-way call events. If a reference condition is detected, thetelephone call is tagged as having a possible three-way call attempt.The system concludes that a three-way call attempt has occurred when twoconsecutive tags have been made to the same telephone call.

Still another known system detects three-way calls by recognizing thateach telephone connection has a characteristic reflection, or echo,idiosyncratic to that connection. The echo characteristics of aparticular telephone connection are altered, for example, when athree-way calling feature is activated by the remote party at theoriginal destination thereby adding a third party at a secondarydestination. The system includes means for “zeroing out” or cancelingthe characteristic echo once a connection has been established by usingan adaptive finite impulse response (FIR) filter. The system alsoincludes response means for implementing a predetermined response whenan undesirable event is detected. Examples of the responses which can bepre-programmed include call termination, playing a prerecorded message,generating a tone which may be heard by one or more parties to the call,muting the microphone of the local telephone and recording the date andtime of the remote party's attempt to initiate the three-way call.

Other systems are known which incorporate methods of monitoring calls intelecommunications management systems. For example, the methods includemeans for detecting tones commonly associated with call bridging andcall forwarding attempts. One such method is directed to the detectionof tones such as ring signals, busy signals, special information tones(“SIT tones”), dual tone multi-frequency tones (“DTMF”), call progresstones or other similar tones characteristic of the placement of atelephone call.

Yet another known system incorporates spread spectrum techniques todetect three-way calls. The system measures delay times associated withmultiple echoes of a reference signal transmitted over a two-way call.This initial echo characteristic is measured and recorded in an initialecho profile. Whether a three-way calling event has occurred isdetermined by virtue of changes in the delay times and number of echoesin each subsequent echo profile when compared with the initial echoprofile. In view of the foregoing, a need clearly exists for a methodand system of three-way call detection capable of accurately detectingthree-way call attempts in analog and digital telecommunicationssystems. This method and system may be used in conjunction with anycurrent system, but is preferably implemented within a system thatdetects three-way call attempts by analyzing the communications pathbetween the originator and recipient in a telecommunications network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention embodies a three-way call detection circuit foruse with an existing telephone management system, and is designed toreduce the number of three-way call attempts not detected by currentthree-way call detection techniques. The system of the present inventionmay be implemented in a variety of facilities including, but not limitedto, penal institutions, mental institutions, nursing homes,rehabilitation centers, correctional facilities, government agencies,private and public business and the like.

Typically, a telephone management system used by such facilitiesconsists of a multitude of telephones connected to a switchboard device.The switchboard device routes calls, performs voice prompts and respondsto menu selections. Telephone calls placed by users of the telephonemanagement system are routed through the switchboard device andconnected to the proper outgoing trunk based on the type of call placed(e.g., collect, debit, etc.). An integrated cross point switch enablesany telephone to access any available outgoing trunk.

The three-way call detection circuit of the present invention isutilized each time a telephone call is placed by a user of the telephonemanagement system. The circuit constantly monitors all active trunklines and telephone conversations. During a telephone call, thethree-way call detection circuit monitors the connection for pulses ofenergy associated with the act of the called party initiating athree-way call. The system of the present invention monitors thepresence of audio signals generated by the central office switchingactivity (hereinafter, “clicks”) indicative of a three-way callinitiation attempt.

For a called party to initiate a three-way call, the called partytypically depresses the hook-switch momentarily to put the calling partyon hold and to call a third-party. The called party's depression of thehook-switch generates a hook-flash signal, which results in the centraloffice generating a click on the inmate's telephone line. It has beenshown that in certain instances a user can circumvent current three-waycall detection systems by “covering up,” “masking,” or otherwise hidinga three-way call attempt by creating a constant or continuous noise(e.g., a constant hum or a constant hiss) while the three-way call isbeing attempted. Prior art systems are not designed to nor are theycapable of detecting such a continuous noise. Thus, users of prior artsystems can bypass the system simply creating continuous noise during athree-way call attempt.

The present invention provides for a method to detect circumventionattempts during a three-way call attempt. Specifically, during eachcall, the system monitors for periods of silence (e.g., by examining anumber of samples from an audio stream to determine whether the sampleis below a certain, pre-determined threshold). When the systempreferably detects that the samples are below the pre-determinedthreshold, it continues to monitor the audio samples until thepre-determined threshold is exceeded. After the pre-determined thresholdis reached, the system continues to examine the audio stream for thenext period of silence. The system then determines the amount of timebetween the periods of silence to determine whether it exceeds themaximum allowable duration for continuous audio. If the elapsed time isgreater than a pre-determined maximum duration, the system determinesthat an attempt to circumvent the three-way call system has occurred andappropriate action is taken.

As a further check to avoid potential false positives, the presentinvention provides a system and method to monitor signal power of thesamples during the period when the pre-determined threshold is exceeded.A false positive occurs when the signal power is not evenly distributedacross the period during which the pre-determined threshold is above themaximum allowed.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide athree-way call detection method and system for detecting three-way callcircumvention attempts.

It is another object of the present invention to monitor the signalpower of the audio signal for detecting three-way call circumventionattempts.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to accurately detectthree-way call attempts and respond with a designated action (e.g.,disconnect, flag, record, monitor, etc.).

It is another object of the invention to provide a three-way calldetection method and circuit which stores all detected three-way callattempts in a central database.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a three-waycall detection method and circuit capable of monitoring a telephoneconversation from the called party's side of the connection.

Additionally, it is an object of the invention to provide a three-waycall detection method and circuit which is compatible with pre-existingtelephone management systems.

Finally, it is a further object of the invention to provide a three-waycall detection method and circuit compatible with both analog anddigital telecommunications systems.

Other objects, features, and characteristics of the present invention,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of the structure, and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, all of which form a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the present invention can be obtained byreference to a preferred embodiment set forth in the illustrations ofthe accompanying drawings. Although the illustrated embodiment is merelyexemplary of systems for carrying out the present invention, both theorganization and method of operation of the invention, in general,together with further objectives and advantages thereof, may be moreeasily understood by reference to the drawings and the followingdescription. The drawings are not intended to limit the scope of thisinvention, which is set forth with particularity in the claims asappended or as subsequently amended, but merely to clarify and exemplifythe invention.

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference isnow made to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the preferred configuration of thethree-way call detection system including continuous noise detection ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic representation of the preferred embodiment ofthe three-way call detection circuit shown in FIG. 1 illustrating itsports and internal structure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the circuit used todetect energy pulses having amplitudes and durations characteristic of athree-way call click.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an alternate configuration of thethree-way call detection system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart of a preferred process implementing thepresent invention to detect attempts to circumvent a three-way calldetection system and method by generating a continuous noise during thethree-way call attempt.

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart of an alternative process implementing thepresent invention to detect attempts to circumvent a three-way calldetection system and method by generating a continuous noise during thethree-way call attempt.

FIG. 7 depicts a flow chart for an alternate method of implementing thepresent invention to detect attempts to circumvent a three-way calldetection system and method by generating a continuous noise during thethree-way call attempt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As required, a detailed illustrative embodiment of the present inventionis disclosed herein. However, techniques, systems and operatingstructures in accordance with the present invention may be embodied in awide variety of forms and modes, some of which may be quite differentfrom those in the disclosed embodiment. Consequently, the specificstructural and functional details disclosed herein are merelyrepresentative, yet in that regard, they are deemed to afford the bestembodiment for purposes of disclosure and to provide a basis for theclaims herein, which define the scope of the present invention. Thefollowing presents a detailed description of the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a Continuous Noise three-way calldetection circuit 101 (hereinafter called “three-way call detectioncircuit 101”) of the present invention configured to monitor telephonecalls between an inmate or resident (calling from inmate telephone 103)and a called party (from called party telephone 111) intelecommunications system 100. Particularly, three-way call detectioncircuit 101 is provided to monitor audio between inmate telephone 103and called party telephone 111 and detect a three-way call attemptincluding a three-way call circumvention attempts. In thisconfiguration, inmate telephone 103 connects to telephone network 105through connection 102, and called party telephone 111 connects totelephone network 109 through connection 110. Telephone network 105 andtelephone network 109 bi-directionally communicate audio data throughconnection 107 thus enabling an inmate or resident at inmate telephone103 to communicate with a called party at called party telephone 111.

Three-way call detection circuit 101 monitors connection 107 throughinterface 113. Specifically, interface 113 receives audio signals fromconnection 107 through monitor connection 112. In turn, interface 113provides the signals to three-way call detection circuit 101 throughinterface connection 114. Alternatively, three-way call detectioncircuit 101 can receive data directly from connection 107.

In an alternative configuration, three-way call detection circuit 101can monitor connection 102 between inmate telephone 103 and telephonenetwork 105. If, for example, inmate telephone 103 is in an institutionsuch as a prison, nursing home, school, detention center, hospital,etc., this enables three-way call detection circuit 101 to be internalto the institution. Three-way call detection circuit 101 is compatiblewith institutional telecommunications systems such as those in prisons,nursing homes, mental institutions, etc. Therefore, host computer 115may be any computer in a telecommunications system, including a hostcomputer in one of the institutions listed above. In these types ofinstitutions, it is important to monitor all telephone calls for thepresence of three-way call attempts to prevent, among other things,inmates or residents from accessing blocked or restricted telephonenumbers.

Three-way call detection circuit 101 (which will be discussed in moredetail below with respect to FIG. 2) monitors connection 107 oralternatively, connection 102, for signals indicative of a three-waycall attempt. Three-way call detection circuit 101 also communicateswith host computer 115 via host connection 116 to inform host computer115 if a three-way call attempt was initiated by a called party atcalled party telephone 111. As discussed earlier, a three-way call istypically initiated when the called party depresses the hook switch onthe telephone, generating a hook-flash signal. The calling party (i.e.,the inmate or resident) is temporarily disconnected from the calledparty while the called party establishes a connection with a thirdparty. Then, all three parties can converse. Preferably, three way-calldetection circuit 101 monitors connections 107 and 102 for continuousnoise which is indicative of a three-way call circumvention or maskingattempt. If three-way call detection circuit 101 detects either athree-way call attempt or three-way call circumvention or maskingattempt, it communicates this to host computer 115. Host computer 115can then use this information to take the appropriate action, which mayinclude disconnecting the telephone call, warning the calling or thecalled party, monitoring the call, logging the call, flagging the call,etc.

Turning next to FIG. 2, depicted is a block diagram of an embodiment ofthree-way call detection circuit 101. As shown, three-way call detectioncircuit includes analog to digital (AID) converter 201, microprocessor203, digital signal processor 205, energy detection circuit 206, memory207, host port 209, and interface port 211.

During operation, three-way call detection circuit 101 monitors thetelephone line communication between an inmate or resident and a calledparty by receiving audio data from interface 113 through connection 114(see FIG. 1). The system of the present invention is preferablycompatible with both analog and digital telecommunications systems.Therefore, signals received by three-way call detection circuit 101 frominterface 113 may be either analog or digital. If the signals areanalog, A/D converter 201 first converts the signals to a digital formatbefore being sent to microprocessor 203 and digital signal processor205. If the telecommunications system is digital, a D/A converter may beused to transmit analog signals to energy detection circuit 206.Notably, three-way call detection circuit 101 is compatible with asignal represented by 8-bit signed linear data, 8-bit Haw, 16-bit lineardata, etc. It should be appreciated that three-way call detectioncircuit 101 monitors connection 107 for inmate or resident data as wellas called party audio data in order to perform three-way call detection.

Signals from connection 114 are received at interface port 211 andtransmitted to both A/D converter 201 and energy detection circuit 206.A/D converter 201 converts analog telephone line data to a digitalsignal compatible with microprocessor 203 and digital signal processor205. As will be discussed with respect to FIG. 3, microprocessor 203instructs digital signal processor 205 and energy detection circuit 206to analyze the signal received from the telephone connection.Microprocessor 203 uses this analysis to detect signals from thetelephone line indicative of a three-way call using the algorithm to bediscussed below. If a three-way call circumvention attempt is detected,microprocessor 203 informs host computer 115 by transmitting a messageto host port 209. Host port 209, in turn, communicates this messagethrough connection 116 to host computer 115.

Referring next to FIG. 3 shown is a block diagram of energy detectioncircuit 206 used by three-way call detection circuit 101 to detect anenergy pulse utilizing a threshold detector 311 and pulse stretcher 313.As shown, energy detection circuit 206 preferably comprises audio input301, isolation transformer 303, sensitivity adjustment circuit 305,amplifier 307, peak detector 309, threshold detector 311, and pulsestretcher 313. Of course, other known circuits for detecting energy maybe used, as necessary. In the preferred embodiment, isolationtransformer 303 is used to isolate energy detection circuit 206 from thecircuit of the inmate's or resident's telephone handset whiletransferring the handset signals from audio input 301 to energydetection circuit 206. This transferred signal is then adjusted bysensitivity adjustment circuit 305 under control of microprocessor 203via sensitivity adjustment line 315. The conditioned signal is thenamplified by amplifier 307.

Peak detector 309 isolates energy pulses in the filtered signal thatexceed a predetermined magnitude. In one embodiment, the predeterminedmagnitude is approximately 6 Decibels (dB), although other magnitudesmay be chosen in accordance with the invention. When such a pulse isdetected, the output of peak detector 309 is driven high and a signal issent to threshold detector 311, which is comprised of operationalamplifier 308, and resistors 310 and 312. Preferably, resistors 310 and312 are both 10 kΩ resistors. If a pulse is provided to thresholddetector 311, it passes the signal to pulse stretcher 313. If no pulseis detected, threshold detector 311 does not output the received signal.

Preferably, pulse stretcher 313 is used to maintain the output ofthreshold detector 311 at its high level for 20 milliseconds. However,pulse stretcher 313 may be configured to maintain the output ofthreshold detector 311 for any time period. The stretched signal is thenoutput on energy detect line 317 and analyzed by microprocessor 203 todetermine if an energy pulse consistent with a three-way call click hasbeen found (i.e., if the pulse has a magnitude of approximately 6 dBs orgreater).

In one embodiment, three-way call detection circuit 101 detectscontinuous noise (i.e., power levels in a continuous noise audio stream)generated by a user in an attempt to circumvent three-way calldetection. As such, the three-way call detection circuit 101 examinesthe audio data from the calling party as well as the called party toidentify an initial period of silence followed by continuous noise and asecond period of silence (also called ‘three-way’ event). The three-waycall detection circuit 101 includes a digital signal processor 205comprising a “continuous noise detection” algorithm (or CND Algorithm)for identifying areas in the audio stream where the signal level iscontinuously above a certain threshold. However, the CND algorithm mayidentify some parts of the audio stream as three-way events (i.e.,silence, noise followed by silence), where no three-way event had beenattempted. These events are characterized as ‘false positive’ and theCND Algorithm includes a Power Distribution Filter (PDF) Algorithm aswell as a Zero Crossing Filter (ZCRF) Algorithm to identify these falsepositives. These Algorithms will be described in detail below.

Referring next to FIG. 4, shown is an alternate configuration of thethree-way call detection circuit 101 as used in an institution telephonemanagement system 401. A plurality of user telephones 402, wherein theactual number of telephones depends on the desired capacity of theinstitution call system, are incorporated into a telephone bank 403 andare connected to an electronic switchboard device 405. It is preferredthat telephone bank 403 may be centrally located within a facility toallow for centralized monitoring. However, it is foreseeable thattelephone bank 403 may be located at a multitude of locations internalor external to a facility to allow for efficient monitoring. Each usertelephone 402 may be equipped with biometric sensing device 409, such asa retinal scanner, fingerprint reader, etc., or any combination ofbiometric devices, so that the acquired biometric data can be used foruser authentication. Alternatively, for efficiency, a single biometricsensing device 409 may be employed for a multitude of user telephones402. Additionally, each telephone may incorporate RF receiver 407 and RFtransmitter 408 to provide RF signals for authentication purposes. Inthis scenario, it is foreseeable that each user is be required to wearan RF transmitter 408 device to transmit radio waves to the RF receiver407. RF receiver 407 may be integral to telephone bank 403 or remote totelephone bank 403. Each RF transmitter 408 may be uniquely encoded to aspecific authorized user. The encoded signal for RF transmitter 408 maybe altered on an intermittent basis depending on the security desired atthe institution. RF transmitter 408 may be incorporated into awristband, ankle band, or any other like device. It is foreseeable thatRF transmitter 408 may be semi-permanently or permanently attached to auser's person in any manner.

Electronic switchboard device 405 regulates calls and connects them tothe proper outgoing trunk line 411. Trunk line 411 may consist of amultitude of connections to any number of local, long distance, orinternational telephone service providers. The number of trunk lines 411depends on the outgoing capacity desired by the institution. Inaddition, trunk lines 411 may be analog, digital, or any other type oftrunk lines not yet contemplated. Electronic switchboard device 405further incorporates an integrated channel bank, allowing calls to beprocessed over either analog or digital trunks as required by thetelephone call system 401. Specifically, when one trunk line 411 isoccupied and handling an outgoing communication, electronic switchboarddevice 405 automatically accesses an alternate trunk line 411 to handlethe outgoing communication. If all trunk lines 411 on the system are inuse, the call may be routed to an alternate system (not depicted). Forexample, electronic switchboard device 405 may be interconnected to amultitude of switchboards to allow for expansion of the system to meetthe capacity desired by the institution. A cross point switch integratedinto electronic switchboard device 405 may also accomplish this routing.

Multiple processors may also be incorporated into the architecture. Thisallows call processing even after parallel component failure. Thearchitecture also provides for a sharing of the load between processors,which eliminates system overload during extremely busy periods. Themultiple processors enable the system to handle large volumes of callsat any time, and ensure system integration.

Additionally, electronic switchboard device 405 performs the voiceprompts heard by the calling party and the recipient of the callallowing the parties to respond to the menu selections. Electronicswitchboard device 405 tests outgoing trunk lines as calls are placedand digitizes telephone audio for recording and/or biometric voiceidentification purposes. If no dial tone is present, one of trunk lines411 may be taken out of service for a pre-programmed amount of time formaintenance. These capabilities are pre-programmed into the device'sfirmware. However, it is foreseeable that software and software upgradesmay provide these services in addition to other services useful in thepresent invention.

A central site server 413 interfaces within the telephone call system401 via a first serial port 415. In the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, an RS-232 serial port is employed for theinterference connection. However, it is foreseeable that other types ofserial ports 415 commonly known in the art may be utilized. Serial port415 may also be comprised of a direct hardware connection or may consistof a series of ports and connecting means commonly known in the art forconnecting electronic devices. Serial port 415 is designed to allowfirmware driven systems, such as electronic switchboard device 405, tointerface with software-based systems, such as a PC designed systemoperating as a site server. All inmate and call information is routedthrough central site server 413. At central site server 413, user callinformation is digitized for efficient data transfer and efficientrecord keeping. Central site server 413 stores at least each user'sfinancial transaction data. It is preferred that central site server 413also stores the digitized audio used for voice prompts as well as eachuser's call restrictions, PIN, biometric verification data, etc.However, depending on the memory requirements, numerous site servers maybe employed. It is foreseeable that older archived data may also bestored on an integral or a remote computer system database (not shown)or kept on additional storage devices on the central site server 413.

Three-way call detection circuit 101 is utilized each time a telephonecall is placed utilizing telephone call system 401. Three-way calldetection circuit 101 is connected to telephone bank 403 and constantlymonitors all active trunk lines 411 and telephone conversations. Duringa telephone call, three-way call detection circuit 101 monitors theconnection and looks for three-way call circumvention or maskingattempts.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a method for detectingcontinuous noise, which is implemented within the three-way calldetection circuit 101 of the telecommunication system 100 in thepreferred embodiment of the invention. Particularly, and as shown inFIG. 5, the flow chart describes the method to implement a continuousnoise detector or detection circuit utilized to detect continuous noise,which is likely indicative of an attempt to mask or otherwise cover up athree-way call attempt. Importantly, one of skill in the art willreadily appreciate that the continuous noise detector may be used alongor implemented in or with any three-way call detection system andmethod, and is shown incorporated into the above system and method byway of example only. Moreover, although the process is shown within adigital system, it may also be implemented in an analog system. Itshould also be appreciated that the system 100 may be configured for asilence event when the power level of the audio signal is below apre-determined threshold, such as in one non-limiting embodiment −20decibels (dBm). Also, other configuration parameters are maximumallowable length of continuous audio (i.e. Maximum allowable time periodfor continuous noise not to exceed 1500 ms, sample size of 512 bytes andbit rate of data at 8 KHz although, in other non-limiting embodiments,three-way call detection system 100 may be configured with otherparameters.

The process begins with step 500 and is followed by step 501 whereby theaudio streams of both parties on the call are monitored. Preferably, theprocess examines a pre-determined sample size of the audio streams, suchas in one non-limiting example, a sample size of 512 bytes, to determinewhether the audio of the sample is below a pre-determined threshold(e.g., −20 dBm) (step 503). The process continues to loop until a samplefalls below the pre-determined threshold (as shown in the loops of steps501 and 503), and this event signifies a silence event. If thepredetermined threshold is not met (i.e., the amplitude of the sample isless than the pre-determined threshold), the process continues tomonitor the streams until the audio stream exceeds the pre-determinedthreshold (as shown in the loop of steps 505 and 507).

Once the pre-determined threshold is reached, the process starts a timer(T1) and continues to monitor the stream until the audio stream againfalls below the pre-determined threshold (as shown in the loop of steps509 and 511). Upon detection of the audio stream falling back below thepre-determined threshold, the process stops the timer (T2) and comparesthe elapsed time (T2−T1) to a pre-determined acceptable duration (step513). In one non-limiting example, the pre-determined acceptableduration is set to a maximum allowable length of continuous audio notexceeding 1500 ms (milliseconds). If the elapsed time (T2−T1) is greaterthan the acceptable duration, the system determines that an attempt tocircumvent the three-way call system has occurred and appropriate actionis taken (step 515). If the elapsed time (T2−T1) is less than theacceptable duration, the process starts over (step 501) for theremaining duration of the call.

In another alternate embodiment as shown in FIG. 6, instead ofmonitoring for when a sample falls below a pre-determined threshold, theprocess may monitor for sample having a power level above apre-determined threshold. In this way, the timer will begin when thepre-determined threshold is reached (regardless of whether it ispreceded by the sample falling below a pre-determined minimum threshold)and continue for a set period of time (T). If the sample remains abovethe pre-determined threshold for the entire period T, the systemdetermines that an attempt to circumvent the three-way call system hasoccurred and appropriate action is taken. If not, the system continuesto monitor the call for events indicative of attempts to circumvent thesystem's three-way call detection method.

The method starts in step 600 and is followed by step 601 (step 601)whereby the audio streams of both parties on the call are monitored.Preferably, the process examines a pre-determined sample size of theaudio streams, such as in one non-limiting example, a sample size of 512bytes to determine whether the audio of the sample is above apre-determined threshold (e.g., −20 dBm). If the sample does not riseabove the predetermined threshold, the circuit 101 continues to loop (asshown in the loop of steps 601 and 603). When a maximum threshold isreached in step 603, the method proceeds to step 605 where circuit 101starts a timer which continues for a set period of time (T). Step 605 isfollowed by step 607 and in this step, if the sample remains above thepre-determined threshold for the entire period T, the system 101determines that an attempt to mask a three-way call attempt has occurredand appropriate action is taken in step 609. If the circuit 101determines that the sample fell below the pre-determined threshold,preferably for at least a period P during period T (where T>P), thesystem determines that no three-way call circumvention attempt hasoccurred and continues to monitor for events indicative of an attempt tomask a three-way call attempt (step 601).

Using a similar method, a three-way call can be detected based on thecontinuous noise of a ringer during the original call. For example, themethod starts in step 600 and is followed by step 601 (step 601) wherebythe audio streams of both parties on the call are monitored. Preferably,the process examines a pre-determined sample size of the audio streams,such as in one non-limiting example, a sample size of 512 bytes todetermine whether the audio of the sample is above a pre-determinedthreshold. In this embodiment, the pre-determined threshold should beset so as to detect a hook-flash signal. In an embodiment, the thresholddetector can be substituted with a waveform analyzer or other hook-flashdetector to specifically detect a hook-flash signal. If the sample doesnot rise above the predetermined threshold, the circuit 101 continues toloop (as shown in the loop of steps 601 and 603). When a maximumthreshold is reached in step 603, the method proceeds to step 605 wherecircuit 101 starts a timer which continues for a set period of time (T).In an embodiment, the period of time (T) is set to a duration sufficientto allow for a successful third-party connection, and for at least onering to be completed, such as for example 1s.

During this period, the circuit 101 monitors the signals to detectcontinuous noise indicative of a ringer. For example, ringers aregenerally represented by repeating 200 ms of continuous noise followedby 400 ms of silence. Therefore, the circuit 101 can be configured tomonitor for the continuous noise. In an embodiment, the durationthreshold can be set to be slightly less than the duration of a ring,such as for example 150 ms. In an embodiment, the duration threshold isset to be greater than 100 ms and less than 200 ms. This helps to ensureadequate detection of the ring, while reducing false positives fromother noise sources. In an embodiment, the circuit 101 can beadditionally/alternatively configured to detect the repeatingnoise/silence pattern. This detection can begin with the power level ofthe audio signal exceeding a predetermined threshold. Because more thana single ring is being detected, the duration of the detection timeperiod should be extended in this embodiment to a length sufficient forthe connection of the call as well as to capture at least more than 1period of the ringer pattern, such as for example 1.6 s. Once initiated,the circuit 101 will examine the power level of the signal to see if itsubstantially conforms to the noise patterns indicative of a ring. Basedon a correlation of the detected noise pattern with the expected noisepattern, a determination can be made as to whether a ring has beendetected. In an embodiment, the circuit 101 canadditionally/alternatively detect the ringer based on a particularfrequency associated with the ringer. In an embodiment, this can beperformed by computing the Fourier transform of the audio stream duringthe noise portion, and compare the result to an expected frequencyvalue.

Step 605 is followed by step 607 and in this step, if the sample meetsthe criteria of the monitoring described above, the circuit 101determines that an attempt to make a three-way call attempt has occurredand appropriate action is taken in step 609. If the circuit 101determines that the sample did not meet the criteria of the monitoringdescribed above, the system determines that no three-way call attempthas occurred and continues to monitor for events indicative of anattempt to make a three-way call attempt (step 601).

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown another alternate method fordetecting continuous noise implemented with configurable parameters suchas, in one non-limiting embodiment, Continuous Noise Detection enabled,silence high threshold, silence low threshold, Maximum constant noiselength, minimum constant noise length, and minimum silence threshold.Particularly, the process begins with step 700 and is followed by step701 whereby the CND circuit 101 is configured, for example, withContinuous Noise Detection enabled, silence high threshold, silence lowthreshold, Maximum constant noise length, minimum constant noise length,and minimum silence threshold. Step 701 is followed by step 703 wherethe audio streams of calling party and the called party are monitoredfor noise. Preferably, the process examines a pre-determined sample sizeof the audio streams, such as in one non-limiting example, a sample sizeof 512 bytes, to determine whether the audio of the sample is above apre-determined threshold (e.g., −20 dBm). The process continues to step705 whereby the next sample is compared to a predetermined silencethreshold and in step 707, if this sample signifies a noise event (i.e.,the sample power is above a predetermined threshold) the sample is savedas time period “Beginning of Noise Sample” in step 709. If thepredetermined threshold is not met (i.e., the amplitude of the sample isless than the pre-determined threshold), the process continues tomonitor the streams until the audio stream exceeds the pre-determinedthreshold (as shown in the loop of steps 705 and 707).

Once the pre-determined threshold is reached, the process continues tomonitor the stream in step 711 until the next sample in the audio streamagain falls below the pre-determined threshold (silence detected). Upondetection of the audio stream falling back below the pre-determinedthreshold in step 713, the process increments silence count value by onein step 715. Otherwise, silence count value is reset in step 717. Next,in step 719, if the sample in the audio stream is in the silencethreshold, them the sample is saved as “End of Noise Sample” in step721. Next, in step 723, if the difference between “Beginning of Noisesample” and End of Noise Sample is within the minimum and maximum lengthfor continuous noise, the method progresses to step 725 where a messageis played to either party that they are in violating of making athree-way call and the telephone system 100 proceeds to disconnect thecall. However, if step 723 is NO, then the method progresses to step 705where the next sample is compared to a predetermined silence threshold.The method ends in step 729.

Also, and as was stated earlier in reference to the Continuous NoiseDetection Algorithm, the circuit 101 may also monitor signal power toavoid false positives. Particularly, three-way call detection circuit101 examines the audio data from the calling party as well as the calledparty to identify an initial period of silence followed by continuousnoise and a second period of silence (also called ‘three-way’ event).The three-way call detection circuit 101 includes a digital signalprocessor 205 comprising a “continuous noise detection” algorithm (orCND Algorithm) for identifying areas in the audio stream where thesignal level is continuously above a certain threshold for the timeperiod T1, which in one non-limiting example, is set at 1500milliseconds. However, the CND algorithm may identify some parts of theaudio stream as three-way events (i.e., silence, noise followed bysilence), where no three-way event had been attempted, such as forexample, loud continuous speech. These events are characterized as‘false positives’. Furthermore, the CND Algorithm may include aplurality of Algorithms, such as a Power Distribution Filter (PDF)Algorithm and a Zero Crossing Filter (ZCRF) Algorithm to identify thesefalse positives. The CND Algorithm triggers the three-way eventcandidate as an output set of line PCM coded samples of audio with audioduration greater than or equal to 1500 milli seconds. The PDF and ZCRFAlgorithms operate on part of the PCM coded sample set. The optimalsample length used for filtering was selected as trailing 60% of thethree-way event sample candidate; this resulting set of samples isfurther referred to as ‘Audio Segment’.

The PDF Algorithm detects events that do not have signal power evenlydistributed across the reported CND event time interval T2−T1. The PDFAlgorithm splits the Audio Segment into a configurable number ofsegments, preferably of equal length. The system 100 calculates thecumulative power (i.e., the sum of absolute coded signal amplitudes foreach part). The cumulative power is normalized by the length of a part.The PDF Algorithm calculates the ‘distance’ (i.e., a difference ofresulting average amplitude values) between values of each part andensures that the maximum distance value is lower than a predefinedconfigurable parameter. All Audio Segments that fail the PDF check aredeclared as false positive three way events.

The Feature Zero crossing Rate (ZCRF) Algorithm filters out allthree-way events where the Zero Crossing Rate (ZCR) is below a certainthreshold that characterizes human speech. The ZCRF Algorithm calculatesthe number of zero-crosses (X axis crosses) of a waveform signalaveraged by the number of samples in the Audio Segment. If the resultingvalue is greater than a preconfigured reference value, such AudioSegment is declared as a false positive three-way event.

While the present invention has been described with reference to thepreferred embodiment and several alternative embodiments, whichembodiments have been set forth in considerable detail for the purposesof making a complete disclosure of the invention, such embodiments aremerely exemplary and are not intended to be limiting or represent anexhaustive enumeration of all aspects of the invention. The scope of theinvention, therefore, shall be defined solely by the following claims.Further, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that numerouschanges may be made in such details without departing from the spiritand the principles of the invention. It should be appreciated that thepresent invention is capable of being embodied in other forms withoutdeparting from its essential characteristics.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for detecting an attempted three-waycall, the method comprising the steps of: monitoring an audio stream;detecting a hook-flash signal; calculating, during a time periodfollowing the hook-flash signal, an elapsed time during which a powerlevel of the audio stream exceeds a pre-determined threshold; anddetermining whether said elapsed time exceeds a maximum allowable periodof time.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the time period immediatelyfollows the hook-flash signal.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetecting of the hook-flash signal is performed by determining if thepower level of the audio signal exceeds a hook-flash predeterminedthreshold.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting of thehook-flash signal includes detecting a hook-flash waveform in the audiosignal.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the time period is at least isin duration.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-determinedthreshold is set to be greater than 100 ms and less than 200 ms.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the powerlevel of the audio stream is evenly distributed across the elapsed time.8. A method for detecting an attempted three-way call, the methodcomprising the steps of: monitoring an audio stream; detecting ahook-flash signal; calculating, during a time period following thehook-flash signal, a noise pattern of the audio stream; and determiningwhether the noise pattern is indicative of a ringer.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the calculating the noise pattern includes recording apower level of the audio stream throughout the time period.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the determining includes correlating thecalculated noise pattern to a predetermined ringer noise pattern. 11.The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined ringer noise patternis a signal power waveform of a known ringer pattern.
 12. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the time period begins after determining that a powerlevel of the audio stream exceeds a predetermined threshold.
 13. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the hook-flash signal is detected using awaveform analyzer to detect a hook-flash waveform in the audio stream.14. The method of claim 8, wherein the hook-flash signal is detected bydetermining that a signal power of the audio stream exceeds apredetermined threshold.
 15. An apparatus for detecting an attemptedthree-way call, the apparatus comprising: an interface for receiving anaudio stream from a telephone line; and a microprocessor coupled to saidinterface configured to: detect a hook-flash signal; monitor the audiostream for a predetermined time period following the hook-flash signal;calculate an elapsed time, during the predetermined time period, that apower level of the audio stream exceeds a predetermined threshold; anddetermine whether the elapsed time exceeds a maximum allowable period oftime.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the microprocessor isconfigured to detect a ringer signal based on the determination.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 16, wherein the microprocessor is configured todetect the ringer by comparing a frequency of the audio signal duringthe elapsed time to a known ringer frequency.
 18. The apparatus of claim15, wherein the predetermined threshold is set to be greater than 100 msand less than 200 ms.
 19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein themicroprocessor is further configured to determine whether the powerlevel of the audio stream is evenly distributed across the elapsed time.20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the microprocessor is configuredto calculate the Fourier transform of the audio signal during theelapsed time to determine the frequency of the audio signal.